NY Mets serve up lunch at Far Rockaway Mission

NY Mets serve up lunch at Far Rockaway Mission

Photo by Adam Rubin | ESPNNewYork.com
Jay Horwitz, Matt Harvey, Jeff Wilpon and Dave Howard were among the Mets employees on hand serving hot meals at the United Methodist Center in Far Rockaway on Tuesday. The soup kitchen feeds the area needy throughout the year, in part through unsold food delivered from Citi Field after games.

Mets pitcher Matt Harvey donned a pair of blue latex gloves for a workout yesterday – serving up Thanksgiving side dishes instead of 92 mile-per-hour fastballs at the United Methodist Center in Far Rockaway, N.Y. About 20 other members of the team’s organization, including owner Jeff Wilpon, Jay Horwitz and Dave Howard, joined the right-hander to serve nearly 300 meals.

Far Rockaway is an underserved area of Queens that was hit hard by Superstorm Sandy; the UM mission has been serving meals and offering worship in that community for more than 20 years. Tons of clothing was also distributed as well as blankets and household items donated by the Park Slope UMC in Brooklyn. An anonymous donor also brought 20 pumpkin pies.

The feast was organized by Syd Mandelbaum of “Rock and Wrap It Up,” a program that boxes up prepared but untouched meals following rock concerts, sporting events and schools before delivering them to local food banks and charitable agencies. The Far Rockaway mission receives unsold food after events at the Mets’ Citi Field.

Another group is providing a turkey feast today; a worship service and meal will also be offered on Thanksgiving Day. The center has asked that clothing donations be limited to coats, gloves and hats.